Best golf courses near Miami, FL

The linchpin of the famous four-course complex previously known as Doral Golf Resort, the Blue Monster had hosted a PGA Tour event annually from 1962 to 2016. The fearsome layout was designed by Dick Wilson in 1962 and set the template for the modern south Florida course with lakes galore, deep bunkers and greenpads elevated above the fairways for drainage and aerial target golf. Several questionable renovations in the 1990s and early 2000s moved it away from the original Wilson look, and the design was lost for a period of time. Always intended to be a course presenting shot-making demands for good players, the Blue Monster was given added bite by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner through the creation of new slopes and ridges on several holes and the excavation of new lakes on the par-3 15 and drivable par-4 16 to add more excitement to the finish. But they wisely left the legendary 18th nearly untouched. Why mess with history? The changes were completed shortly before the PGA Tour took the course out of its annual location.

Indian Creek was built in 1930 on an island north of Miami Beach created with sand dredged from Biscayne Bay. William Flynn designed the course at the center of the island with estate homes ringing the perimeter along the water--the massive Mediterranean-style clubhouse opens toward a heroic, unimpeded southern view of downtown Miami. Over the decades drainage issues arose, and a renovation by Flynn's former associate Dick Wilson along with other incremental tinkering had taken the shine off the original architecture. A 2022 rebuild by Andrew Green corrected the drainage problems leaving a dry and racy design with fairways that rise into elevated greens and banks left and right around bunkers that more closely resemble what Flynn originally designed. The standout hole has always been the long par-3 12th playing from a high tee over a cove of water and field of bunkers, but the short par 4s at four and 13 that also play along and inlet of Biscayne Bay called Indian Creek Lake are just as scenic and more thought-provoking. The par 5s at nine and 11 are also worthy of accolades, each gliding into greens situated on panoramic high points. Green's reconstruction of Indian Creeek earned second place in the Golf Digest 2023 Best Renovation awards.

Having hosted PGA and LPGA Tour events, the Soffer Course at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry offers a risk-reward scenario on almost every hole.

This historic Biltmore resort features a par-71 championship course originally designed by Donald Ross in 1925 that underwent an extensive renovation recently by Brian Silva's team to reinvigorate this classic layout.

Golf in Aiken began over a century ago with two in-town courses, Palmetto Golf Club and Aiken Golf Club. Palmetto, founded in 1892, was primarily designed by Herbert Leeds, the builder of Myopia Hunt Club near Boston, with major amendments in 1932 by Alister MacKenzie who was working on Augusta National (just 30 miles away). Ranking comfortably inside our Third 100 Greatest Courses, it’s a polished, jewel-box design draped over up and down topography with one of the country’s great sets of greens full of slick interior movements that slip away into a variety of undulous chipping areas. A renovation completed in 2023, done in-house with consultation by Kye Goalby, designer of nearby Tree Farm, has brought the turf conditions up to par with the course's unique architecture.

Conveniently located close to Miami's and Fort Lauderdale's airports, Shula's Golf Club (or Miami Lakes) is one of the best values in town and perfect for travelers.

Though shorter than the Soffer Course, the Miller Course still offers trouble off the tee and around the greens. Three-time major champion Julius Boros was the course's first Director of Golf.

Miami Beach Golf Club originally opened in 1923 as Bayshore Golf Course. It has undergone several renovations since, including a complete rebuild in 2002 and become highly regarded among South Florida residents.